Interactive board game

ABSTRACT

A pattern made from a magnetizable material ( 1 ) is placed below a board. A playing piece ( 6 ) contains a magnet ( 4 ), which interacts with the magnetic material ( 1 ). If placed on special fields on the board, the playing piece slides away and stops ( 7 ) near the centre of another field on the board. The special fields are predetermined by the hidden magnetic pattern. The movement of the playing piece along the surface of the board of the board game comes as a surprise until the player memorizes all possible configurations of special fields for a fixed magnetic pattern. The pattern made from the magnetizable material can be varied before the beginning of each game. The disruption of the game caused by the movement of the playing piece to another field of the board of the board game introduces an extra degree of chance to the game of skill.

The present disclosure relates to the subject matter disclosed in UK application No. GB 0320611.7 of Sep. 3, 2003, and PCT application No. PCT/GB2004/003740 of Sep. 2, 2004 which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to board games, specifically to board games, where dynamical aspects can be added to the game using interactive forces between magnetic materials.

BACKGROUND ART

The use of magnets, magnetized playing pieces or magnetic game board surfaces is well known in prior art. The typical example being the magnetic chess board used as a travel game. The magnetically attractive game board assembly for chess or jigsaw puzzles have been popular for the obvious reason that it enables one to move game pieces with an assurance that the pieces will remain where emplaced, even if the game board is tilted, or even inverted.

The adaptation of the magnetic force as a game element which adds a dynamical physical aspect to the game has been the subject of numerous patent applications. Existing prior art is based on developing different embodiments of a similar principle of attractive or repulsive interaction between a permanent magnet integrated into a playing piece and a permanent magnet placed below the surface of the board. The dynamic aspect of the game was developed so that the playing pieces themselves can become substantially altered depending upon the location of placement on the board.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,042 (Sweeton) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,980 (Sniderman) discusses the usage of spherical playing pieces with built-in magnets. The playing piece can be rotated by 180° by the magnetic field provided by the external magnets placed below the board. Such rotation of the playing piece brings one of two dissimilar pictures on the top of the playing piece. The game is adjusted to change the rules applicable to the playing piece in accordance with the picture on the top of the playing piece. U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,564 (Matsumoto) suggested an embodiment according to which a special indicator's field on a playing piece is rotated as a result of the interaction between a magnet below the board and the magnet in the playing piece.

The means of providing a possibility for physically moving playing pieces independently of the player are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,293 (Hess). As usual, a set of magnets was used below the board of the board game and other magnets were integrated inside the playing pieces. The magnetic strength was chosen so that the playing piece would be lifted if placed above a magnet with an opposite polarity of the magnetic field. As a result of the lifting the playing piece tends to flip and make a move in a random and unpredictable fashion. The trajectory of the moving playing piece depends significantly on the exact position at which the playing piece is released by the finger of the player.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,980 (Sniderman) describes the suggestion of using a pre-programmable pattern arranged by permanent magnets hidden underneath the board of the board game. The pattern can be changed prior each game by physically moving magnets between the pluralities of specially arranged holes. This rearrangement gives a virtually unlimited variety of patterns. However the player or players rearranging the position of magnets will clearly see the pattern before placing it in the hidden position behind the board of the board game. The revealing of the pattern to some or all of the players just before the beginning of the game reduces the effect of novelty and thus provides inherent limitations to the suggested approach. The patent describes a way of overcoming this limitation by implementing a rotation of the magnetic pattern behind the board and a flip of the whole pattern. Either one of two opposite surfaces of the magnetic pattern can be placed just underneath the board of the board game thus increasing the number of possible variations. Various combinations of flips and rotations of the magnetic pattern may be selected to achieve a total of eight different patterns.

However the interaction between the magnets placed inside the playing pieces can cause some unwanted and confusing effects during the game. If placed on a free surface without the hidden magnetic pattern below, the playing pieces will repel and slide away from each other. They also can lift and flip to stick together if placed too close to each other.

Such unwanted behavior could be suppressed by making cavities in the center of the each field on the board of the board game. The centers of the fields on the board should be further separated by a distance of at least 20 mm to suppress the interaction between the magnets in the playing pieces if such pieces are placed on adjacent fields. Such configuration does not allow for free movement of the playing pieces; instead pieces are moved in between the pockets on the surface of the board. Such an arrangement prevents physical movement of playing pieces independently of the player, which otherwise might be achieved in the manner discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,293 (Hess).

Another way of reducing interaction between the playing pieces can be provided by placing a permanent magnet below the centre of each field on the board. The large number of permanent magnets needed for this will increase the cost of the board game.

The prior art does not show any game configuration where magnetic forces between the permanent magnet in the playing piece and the soft magnetizable material below the board is utilized as a dynamic aspect of the game.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention achieves a new means of providing an interactive and dynamic behavior between the playing piece and the board of the board game. The playing piece has an integrated permanent magnet inside. The playing piece is magnetically attracted to the board assembly with the magnetizable material placed below the surface of the board. The playing piece, if placed on some of the special fields on the board, will be unable to remain where emplaced but instead will slide close to the centre of an adjacent field of the board. The position of the special fields and the direction of the movement are predetermined by a pattern made from a magnetizable material, which is placed below the board of the board game. As a result of the interaction with the hidden pattern made from the magnetizable material the position of the playing piece is changed independently of the player. The direction of the movement to an adjacent field on the board is unknown to the player in advance, but is reproducible during the game. The hidden pattern of special fields can be easily changed before the beginning of each game by the player. The pattern made from the magnetizable material can be assembled from one or more pieces. Each piece might be further encapsulated between two sheets of non-transparent material like cardboard. As a result the newly assembled pattern will not be revealed directly to the players during the process of changing.

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:

-   -   (a) An extra degree of chance to a game of skill is introduced         via the surprising disruption of the board game caused by the         physical movement of the playing piece to another field of the         board of the board game independently of the player     -   (b) The means of achieving the said movement are provided by a         special pattern made from a sheet of magnetizable material,         which is hidden below the surface of the board of the board game     -   (c) The special hidden pattern is adjusted to enable movement of         a playing piece due to dynamic and reproducible interaction         between the pattern made from the magnetizable material and the         permanent magnet encapsulated in the playing piece     -   (d) As a result of such interaction, if placed upon special         fields on the board, the playing piece slides away and stops         near the centre of another field on the board     -   (e) The movement of the playing piece along the surface of the         board of the board game comes as a surprise until the player         memorizes all possible configurations of the special fields         related to a fixed hidden magnetic pattern     -   (f) Playing pieces placed on the fields adjacent to the special         fields can influence the direction of the movement of another         playing piece along the surface of the board     -   (g) The hidden pattern is assembled from one or more parts and         can be varied before the beginning of each game combining the         changing of the location of parts, their rotation and flipping.     -   (h) Parts for the hidden pattern can be punched, laser cut or         chemically etched from a cheap magnetizable material thus         enabling a low production cost

Further objects and advantages are to make an interactive board game which is simple to use and inexpensive to manufacture, to provide a means of using magnetic force as a game element which adds a dynamic physical aspect to the game, to achieve a reproducible physical movement of the playing pieces independently of the player, and to quickly change the pattern of the board before a game. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5 show variations of the geometry of the special field made from the magnetizable material.

FIG. 2 shows the direction and amplitudes of the magnetic forces acting on the permanent magnet placed near the centre of the special field.

FIG. 6 shows the direction of movement of the playing piece placed close to the centre of the special field.

FIG. 7 shows the direction of movement of the playing piece placed close to the edge of the special field.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show how the presence of another adjacent playing piece influencing the direction of the movement of a playing piece placed near the centre of a special field.

FIGS. 10 to 13 show several different geometries of joining special fields onto adjacent areas of the board.

FIGS. 14 to 17 show different patterns of special fields made from the magnetizable material. FIGS. 14 and 15 are achieving the same pattern. FIG. 14 shows the pattern achieved by punching through a sheet of magnetizable material. FIG. 15 shows the pattern created by overlaying separate pieces from magnetizable material on a non-magnetizable substrate.

FIG. 18 shows the assembling of four dissimilar pieces of a magnetic pattern below the surface of the board of the board game.

FIG. 19 shows the assembling of four dissimilar pieces of the magnetic pattern below the surface of the inclined board of the board game.

FIGS. 20 and 22 show the geometries of the special fields, which are developed for the inclined board arrangement.

FIGS. 21 and 23 show the direction of movement of the playing piece on the special fields shown in FIGS. 20 and 22. It is assumed that the playing piece tends to slide down to the bottom of the page due to gravity and inclination of the surface of the board.

FIG. 24 shows the geometry of the pattern made from the magnetisable material which is similar to one shown in the FIG. 15. Further adjustment of the geometry is undertaken for centering game piece closer to the centre of the square of the game field.

Reference numerals in drawings:

1 magnetizable material

2 elongated convergent protrusion

3 hole in the magnetizable material

4 permanent magnet integrated inside the playing piece

5 in-plane components of magnetic forces acting on the permanent magnet

6 playing piece placed upon a special field

7 playing piece after the movement

8 board of the board game with the visible grid pattern

9 encapsulation layers

10 base of the board

11 section of the pattern made from the magnetizable material

12 table top

13 inclined base of the board

20 playing piece placed in a position adjacent to the special field

21 additional layer of magnetizable material on top of the star-like protrusions

22 star shaped piece with a central hole

23 elongated piece with a butterfly shaped base

24 non-magnetic base of the pattern

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplary embodiments. However, it should be understood that this class of embodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous uses and innovative teaching herein. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features, but not to others. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of the embodiment, can be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Other objects, features, and aspects of the present invention are disclosed in or may be determined from the following detailed description. It is to be understood by one of the ordinary skills in the art that the present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the present invention.

The present invention describes the means of producing a hidden pattern of special fields on the board of the board game. Each special field corresponds to the magnetic anomaly on the board of the board game. The pattern of such magnetic anomalies is formed by the plurality of specially shaped holes 3 in the layer of the thin magnetizable material 1. A playing piece used for such a board game contains a permanent magnet 4, which will attract the playing piece to the magnetizable material. Typically such attractive forces will be directed perpendicularly to the surface of the board of the board game. Thus it will hold the playing piece with an assurance that the piece will remain where emplaced, even if the game board is tilted, or even inverted. However, the direction and the magnitude of this attractive force changes at the special fields determined by the patterns of holes 3 made in the layer of the magnetizable material 1. The holes 3 can have an inherent asymmetry to enable the net in-plane force 5 to act on the permanent magnet 4 if the magnet is placed upon the special field of the board. The in-plane component of the net force will cause the movement of the playing piece 6 with the integrated permanent magnet 4. As a result the playing piece 6 will move independently of the player to a new position 7 on the board 8 of the board game.

FIGS. 1-9—Preferred Embodiment

The permanent magnet 4 integrated inside the playing piece 6 is attracted to the edges of the hole 3 in the magnetizable material 1. The magnetizable material 1 becomes magnetized in the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet. Without the elongated protrusion 2 shown in FIG. 1 the hole 3 is symmetrical. A permanent magnet placed in the center of the symmetrical hole will influence weak equal and oppositely directed forces from the edges of the hole. As a result the playing piece with a permanent magnet will stay in the center of the hole without sliding to adjacent fields of the board. The elongated convergent protrusion 2 shown in FIG. 1 inside the hole 3 in the magnetizable material 1 is an important part of the geometry of the magnetic pattern. It helps to break the symmetry of the forces 5 applied to the permanent magnet integrated inside the playing piece. FIG. 2 shows that the net in-plane component of the force 5 applied to the permanent magnet 4 appears, if the playing piece 6 is placed near the center of the hole 3 with an elongated convergent protrusion 2. This in-plane force does not change its direction once the magnet touches the protrusion 2. Instead the in-plane force 5 will still direct the permanent magnet towards the nearest side of the hole 3 to which the protrusion 2 is attached. The in-plane force 5 is caused in such a situation by the gradient of the amount of magnetic material in the elongated convergent protrusion 2. The elongated convergent protrusion 2 could be of an arbitrary shape but should provide a gradient of the amount of magnetic material in the direction to the base of the protrusion 2. However, the base of the elongated convergent protrusion 2 and the angle at the vertex of the protrusion 2 should not be chosen to be arbitrarily large with an intention to increase the value of the gradient of the amount of the magnetic material. In fact the playing piece will stop anyway near the point where the section of the protrusion 2 becomes comparable to the radius of the permanent magnet. At this position the attractive force between the permanent magnet 4 and the magnetic material 1 will change its direction to the perpendicular one so that the component of the force parallel to the board of the board game will vanish. As a compromise a relatively sharp angle must be used for the elongated convergent protrusion 2.

Accordingly the inherent asymmetry of the pattern of holes 3 is provided by introducing an elongated convergent protrusion 2 towards the centre of the hole. An example of the protrusion with a triangular shape is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows the direction of the in-plane components of forces 5 acting on the permanent magnet 4 placed near the centre of the hole 3 in close vicinity to the end of the elongated convergent protrusion 2. The force directed along the protrusion 2 is the largest due to the strong dependence of magnetic forces against the distance between the magnet and the magnetic material. As a result of the net in-plane force 5 the playing piece 6 will slide along the surface of the board 8 towards a new equilibrium position 7 near the base of the protrusion 2 in a manner shown in FIG. 6. However, the balance of forces shown in FIG. 2 will change if the playing piece 6 is placed initially out of centre of the special field, close to its edge. The distance to the nearest edge of the hole 3 will then become comparable to or even smaller than the distance towards the end of the protrusion 2. As a result the playing piece will move to the new equilibrium position 7 on the nearest field of the board as further shown in FIG. 7.

Some variations of the form of the hole 3 and the form of the elongated convergent protrusion 2 are shown in FIGS. 3-5. For instance, instead of the square shape for the main hole 3 other shapes might be utilized (see FIG. 5). The protrusion 2 might have a straight part just when joining the side of the hole 3 (see FIG. 3). Very near the edge of the hole 3 the main force between the permanent magnet 4 in the playing piece and the magnetizable material will be caused by the attraction to the edge of the hole 3. Thus the shape of the elongated convergent protrusion 2 might be varied to some extent without effecting the movement of the playing piece.

FIG. 8 shows another playing piece 20 placed adjacent to the special field of the board of the board game. The permanent magnet 4 integrated inside the playing piece 20 causes an additional component of the in-plane force acting on the playing piece 6 placed near the centre of the special field. If the permanent magnets 4 in playing pieces 6 and 20 are oriented in the same way, then the interaction between the permanent magnets 4 will be of a repulsive character. This repulsive interaction can be screened by a solid layer of magnetizable material located just below both permanent magnets 4. The hole 3 in the magnetizable material does not allow to achieve such screening. As a result the playing piece 6 will be sliding away from the protrusion 2 with the adjacent playing piece 20 as shown in FIG. 8. Thus the adjacent playing piece 20 can reverse the direction of the movement of the playing piece 6 placed upon a special field of the board 8.

FIG. 9 shows the possible trajectories of the playing piece 6 in the case when an additional playing piece 20 is placed on a side adjacent to the elongated protrusion 2. The repulsive force between the playing piece 6 and the playing piece 20 is directed perpendicularly to the attractive force between the playing piece 6 and protrusion 2. Other elongated protrusions will effect the movement of the playing piece 6 once it slides closer to their ends. Small misalignment of the initial position of the playing piece 6 near the centre of the special field will determine the final trajectory of the movement. Four possible different end positions 7 for the playing piece 6 are shown in FIG. 9.

FIGS. 10-17—Additional Embodiments

The pattern of special fields on the board can include stand-alone fields as well as joint special fields as demonstrated in FIG. 9. Further possible geometry of joint special fields is shown in FIGS. 10-13. FIGS. 10, 12, and 13 show the arrangement which is created by overlaying separate pieces from magnetizable material on a non-magnetizable substrate.

The diagonal star-like protrusions shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are provided with an additional layer of magnetizable material 21 placed on the top of the pattern. The additional layer 21 allows to increase the gradient of the amount of magnetizable material along the long diagonal protrusion. This allows to achieve a longer range of sliding of the playing piece along the diagonal protrusion. The strength of the magnet and the size of the fields on the board will be optimized for achieving the stop points 7 to be close to the centre of the squares on the board. The length of the sliding path along the protrusion parallel to the grid of the board is 30% shorter than the one in the diagonal direction. Without the reinforcement of the magnetic pattern, the playing piece might fail to slide to the end of the diagonal protrusion.

FIGS. 14 to 17 show different patterns of special fields made from the magnetizable material. FIGS. 14 and 15 show the same pattern. FIG. 14 shows the pattern achieved by punching through a sheet of magnetizable material. FIG. 15 shows the pattern created by overlaying separate pieces from magnetizable material on a non-magnetizable substrate.

FIG. 24—Additional Embodiments

FIG. 24 shows patterns of special fields made from the magnetizable material. This pattern is similar to the pattern in FIG. 15. However, it shows details of further adjustment of the geometry of the elements of the pattern which allows better overall performance for centering the playing piece 7 near the centre of the squares of the game board.

FIG. 24 shows the pattern created by overlaying separate pieces 22 and 23 made from magnetizable material on a non-magnetizable substrate 24. Such pieces 22 and 23 can be created with a variety of techniques including punching, laser cutting or chemical etching of the pattern on a large sheet of magnetisable material. Silicon steel containing up to 2-4% of Si and some traces of other additives like aluminum usually provides a reasonable performance as a magnetisable material.

The star shaped piece 22 has a central hole to allow for the permanent magnet 4 to stop very near the centre of the square of the game board. Without the central hole in the star shaped piece 22 the permanent magnet 4 will tend to stop near the edges of the star shaped piece 22 rather than at the center of this piece. The corners of the star shaped piece 22 are working as convergent protrusions which enforce the sliding action of the playing piece 7 with the permanent magnet 4 towards the centre of the square of the game board.

The elongated piece 23 with a butterfly shaped base has a convergent protrusion capable of enforcing the sliding action for the playing piece 7 with the permanent magnet 4 towards the centre of the adjacent square of the game board. The butterfly shaped base can further center the position of the playing piece 7 with the permanent magnet 4 placed above the base of the piece 23.

FIG. 18—Preferred Embodiment of the Board

Pattern 11 made from the magnetizable material 1 can have a wide variety of distributions of special fields. The pattern 11 should be laminated into either transparent or nontransparent material 9 for safety reasons to encapsulate the sharp edges of the magnetizable material. Before the game starts, several pieces of the encapsulated magnetizable material with preferably dissimilar and asymmetrical patterns are put into the base 10 of the board. These several pieces will cover the whole surface below the board of the board game without leaving a significant amount of uncovered space or without overlapping each other. A board 8 with a grid on a colorful background is placed on top of the encapsulated pieces 11 with magnetizable material (see FIG. 18).

Even in the case when just one solid piece of the pattern is used below the board it is still possible to put it below the board in eight different ways (including flipping the whole piece and rotating it by 90°). Generally, more than one encapsulated piece made from the magnetizable material might be used to cover the base 10 of the board. For instance, FIG. 18 shows four square pieces which are used to cover the square board of the board game. The combination of exchanging the location of parts, their rotation and flipping will provide 4!×8⁴=98304 unique different patterns for the game.

ALTERNATIVE MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The pattern of magnetic anomalies on the board of the board game can also be formed by the symmetrical holes 3 in the magnetizable material. The asymmetry of the forces acting on the permanent magnet 4 integrated in the playing piece might be provided by the inclination of the board of the board game. By adjusting the slope of the board it is possible to achieve a condition when the playing piece will slide down if placed above a hidden hole in the magnetizable material. The playing piece will stop sliding if positioned above the magnetizable material due to increased attraction to the board.

The forces acting on the playing piece positioned on top of the inclined board (angle α to horizontal) with the magnetizable material positioned below are:

(a) gravity—mg

(b) magnetic attraction between the magnet and the ferromagnetic film—M

(c) supporting force—N

(d) friction force—F_(fr)

The friction force can't exceed F_(fr)=μN, where μ is a constant of friction. If the maximum value of F_(fr)=μN drops below mg×sin(α), the playing piece will slide down with a constant acceleration. If the playing piece is placed above the hole in the magnetizable material, the magnetic force disappears and the supporting force is reduced to mg×cos(α). The inequality F_(fr)<mg×sin(α) then is reduced to a simple formula tan(α)>μ. In other words, if the slope of the game board is slightly larger than arctan(μ), the playing piece will slide down if placed above the hole in the magnetizable material. However it will stop sliding once overlapping with the magnetizable material placed below the board. It will stop because the friction force will be enlarged due to the extra attraction between the permanent magnet integrated in the playing piece and the magnetizable material.

The combination of concepts of using elongated convergent protrusions 2 and inclination of the board enables to design a geometry of special fields which allows the movement of the playing piece independent of the player over large distances exceeding the size of one field on the board.

FIGS. 20-23—Alternative Embodiments

FIG. 20 and FIG. 22 show the same pattern made from the magnetizable material. FIG. 20 shows the pattern achieved by punching through a sheet of magnetizable material. FIG. 22 shows the pattern created by overlaying separate pieces of magnetizable material on a non-magnetizable substrate. The possible trajectories of the movement of the playing piece 6 placed upon special fields of the pattern are further shown in FIGS. 21 and 23. The playing piece 6 would slide along the long side of the hole of the pattern due to gravity. It might be stopped by the magnetic forces either at the end of the long hole or somewhere along the long hole by the interaction with the elongated convergent protrusion 2. The protrusion inside the long hole will capture the moving playing piece and will redirect it in a perpendicular direction by using magnetic forces of attraction between the permanent magnet 4 and the magnetizable material 1.

FIG. 19—Alternative Embodiment of the Board

FIG. 19 shows the assembling of the pattern below the board of the board game for an inclined board. The angle a between the surface of the table 12 and the base of the board 13 is adjusted so as to enable the sliding of the playing piece under the force of gravity when no magnetizable material is placed immediately below the playing piece. It might be more useful to have separate pieces of the pattern 11 made from the magnetizable material in a rectangular shape. The base 13 of the board as well as the board 8 of the board game can also have a rectangular rather than square form. This will insure that the pieces of the pattern 11 below the board 8 are placed in the base 13 of the board with a predetermined orientation along the inclination of the board. Thus the direction of sliding caused by gravity will coincide with the long side of the pattern 11. FIG. 19 shows the pattern assembled from four dissimilar pieces. Each piece can be put in the base 13 of the board in four different ways (including flipping the whole piece and rotating it by 180°). The combination of exchanging the location of the four parts 11, their rotation and flipping will provide 4!×4⁴=6144 unique different patterns for the game.

EXAMPLE OF APPLICATION OF INVENTION

The geometry of the hole 3 and the elongated convergent protrusion 2 can be adjusted so that the final position 7 of the playing piece 6 coincides with the centre of an adjacent field regardless of the possible misalignment of the playing piece 6 in respect to the centre of the special field. For instance, in the case of the misalignment of the order of 30% of the size of the special field the playing piece 6 will move to the centre of the field, which encloses in the base of the protrusion 2, as shown in FIG. 6. If the misalignment exceeds 30% of the size of the special field, the playing piece 6 will slide towards the centre of the nearest field as shown in FIG. 7.

The possible geometry was adjusted for several magnets:

-   -   (a) plastic bonded NdFeB, energy density (½ BH) corresponding to         80 kJ/m³; diameter 7.5 mm, height 7 mm;     -   (b) sintered NdFeB, energy density (½ BH) corresponding to 280         kJ/m³; diameter 6 mm, height 8 mm; diameter 7 mm, height 6 mm;     -   (c) sintered SmCo, energy density (½ BH) corresponding to 145         kJ/m³; diameter 7 mm, height 5 mm;     -   (d) sintered NdFeB, energy density (½ BH) corresponding to 280         kJ/m³; diameter 12 mm, height 1.4 mm;

The adjustments were made for the board with squares of the size of 20×20 mm and 23×23 mm. A fully thermally treated silicon steel Si_(3%)Fe_(97%) material of electrical grade with a thickness of 0.125 mm, 0.18 mm, and 0.2 mm was used as the magnetizable material for the pattern. The hole 3 was made in the form of a square 32×32 mm so that its edges were located 6 mm over from the edges of the square fields of the board. The elongated convergent protrusion 2 was made as an isosceles triangle:

-   -   (a) with a base of 4 mm and a length of 16 mm; the vertex of the         triangle coinciding with the centre of a square field 20×20 mm         of the board     -   (b) with a base of 4 mm and a length of 14 mm; the vertex of the         triangle is 2 mm short of the centre of the square field 20×20         mm of the board     -   (c) with a base of 3 mm and a length of 18 mm; the vertex of the         triangle 2 mm over the centre of the square field 20×20 mm of         the board;     -   (d) with a base of 4.6 mm and a length of 21 mm; the vertex of         the triangle is 2 mm short of the centre of the square field         23×23 mm

The protrusions of the type (a) and (b) were working very well for magnets listed above with a diameter of about 7 mm. The stop points 7 coincided with the centre of the adjacent field with an accuracy of about 1 mm. The smaller magnet with a diameter of 6 mm has been reproducibly stopping before approaching the end of the protrusion. Narrowing the shape of the protrusion according to the triangle with the size of type (c) allows to achieve the necessary range of movement for this smaller diameter magnet. The protrusion of the type (d) was working very well with a larger diameter magnet of the type (d) having diameter of 12 mm.

The separation between the permanent magnets integrated in the playing pieces from the magnetic pattern layer have been varied in a wide range, from 0.5 mm to 3.5 mm by introducing a number of layers of cardboard in between. It was experimentally found that a separation of about two to three millimeters provides an optimum balance if using the silicon steel sheet material with a thickness of 0.18 mm or 0.2 mm.

On the one hand the increased separation allows to reduce the attractive force between the magnet in the playing piece and the magnetizable material. This allows the player to move the playing piece around the board more comfortably by applying less force. Simultaneously the movement action of the playing piece on the special fields became less abrupt near the stop point. On the other hand the reduced interaction between the magnet and the magnetizable material reduces the in-plane force. Finally this reduces the range of movement achievable for the playing piece and so does not allow adjusting the stop point 7 to be near the center of another field of the board.

The appropriate distance between the magnet and the magnetizable material depends on many parameters like the thickness of the magnetizable material, its magnetic permeability, the diameter of the permanent magnet, its height, the energy density (½ BH) of the material of the permanent magnet, and the geometry of the elongated convergent protrusion 2. The separation between the playing piece and the layer of the magnetic pattern can be increased by increasing the thickness of the magnetizable material, choosing material with larger permeability, and choosing a stronger permanent magnet.

It was found challenging to adjust the parameters of the pattern to provide long range movement action for permanent magnets with the energy density below 50 kJ/m³.

ADVANTAGES

The present invention allows to:

-   -   (a) provide a means of using magnetic force as a game element         which adds a dynamic physical aspect to the game     -   (b) achieve a reproducible physical movement of the playing         pieces independently of the player     -   (c) quickly change the pattern of the special fields on the         board before a game     -   (d) make an interactive board game which is simple to use     -   (e) make an interactive board game which is inexpensive to         manufacture

The movement of the playing piece along the surface of the board of the board game comes as a surprise until the player memorizes all possible configurations of the special fields for a fixed hidden magnetic pattern. Each game can be started with a new pattern. The variety of the possible patterns achievable by combinations exceeds the capability of the player to memorize them all.

The dynamic interaction described in the present invention can be used to create a new class of board games.

Novel board games should be based on simple or complex strategies, which involve a choice of moving the playing piece in different directions during the game. Ideally such games will not involve a one-dimension predetermined zigzag path of the type used for “Snake and Ladders” or a predetermined circumference path of the type used for “Monopoly”. Instead the game should involve a true two-dimension movement choice possibly restricted in some directions by a pattern of walls of a simple or complex labyrinth structure. The strategy for such games should be critically disrupted by the unwanted movements of the playing piece independently of the player. For instance, the movement of the playing piece through the walls of the labyrinth shown on the surface of the board could either complicate or simplify the task of the player to reach certain places of the labyrinth.

It will be disadvantageous to use visible special fields with predetermined actions on the surface of the board for these novel games. The player has a choice of moving in different directions on the board. So the player will avoid stepping upon visible special fields if they introduce an action causing the disruption for the player's strategy. The invisible hidden pattern of special fields will introduce an element of chance to the player's strategy of skill. The novel game will require a skill of dynamic adoption to the disruption to the player's strategy and will require skills to memorize locations and the actions of at least some of the special fields located close to the critical places on the board.

The longer range movement of the playing piece on the inclined board (see FIG. 21) will allow to construct an action relevant to the game situation. For instance it might be treated as if the playing piece has been carried off by a river or water currents, or fallen down a cliff face, or as if the flying playing piece falls due to air turbulence, or if the playing piece stumbls across a secret passageway.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATION, AND SCOPE

Accordingly, the reader will see that the hidden pattern made from the magnetizable material can enable an interactive board game of the type described in this invention. In such a board game the physical movement of the playing piece to another field of the board of the board game can occur independently of the player. The movement of the playing piece along the surface of the board of the board game is reproducible and comes as a surprise until a player memorizes all possible configurations of special fields for a fixed hidden magnetic pattern. In addition, other playing pieces placed on the fields adjacent to the special fields can influence the direction of the movement of a playing piece along the surface of the board. This can further complicate the memorizing of the possible movements of a playing piece placed upon special fields on the board of the board game.

The hidden pattern made from the magnetizable material can be assembled from one or several parts. Each of these parts is further encapsulated. The assembled pattern can be varied before the beginning of each game. The possible variations can be provided by combining the changing of the location of parts, their rotation and flipping.

Although the description of the details of the pattern made from magnetizable materials contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the present application.

For example, the additional magnetic pieces cut from the flexible magnetic sheets could be attached to some points on the surface of the pattern or on the base of the board 10 below the pieces of the pattern made from magnetizable material. These additional magnets can further help to centre the playing pieces on the fields on the board of the board game.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by examples given. The appended claims should be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all apparent variations and modifications. 

1. An apparatus for playing a game comprising: a piecewise-flat or piecewise-smooth game board having two surfaces; a piecewise-flat or piecewise-smooth pattern made from a magnetizable material, said pattern is placed below one of the surfaces of said board as a separable or an integrated component; said pattern further comprising plurality of areas partially free from the magnetizable material and plurality of convergent protrusions made from the magnetizable material; said protrusions are directed inwards of at least some said areas which are partially free from magnetizable material; a magnet integrated inside a playing piece, said playing piece is placed during a game on the other surface of said board; said surface of the board is served as a playing surface of said game apparatus; whereby a variation of the geometry of said pattern along the surface of said board and magnetic interaction between the magnetizable material of said pattern and said magnet integrated inside said playing piece provide a means for enforcing a sliding movement of said playing piece along the surface of said board and a means for defining the direction for said sliding movement.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising said board with plurality of fields defined graphically on the playing surface of said board; wherein said convergent protrusions made from magnetizable material have a preferred triangular-like shape; the vertex of said protrusion is located near the centre of one of the fields of the playing surface, the base of said protrusion is located inside an adjacent field of the playing surface.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising plurality of playing pieces with magnets integrated inside said playing pieces whereby a magnetic field of additional playing pieces placed adjacent to said playing piece provides a means for affecting the direction for said sliding movement of said playing piece.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an additional means for supporting at least the part of said board at an angle to the horizontal; said angle is adjusted so as to permit the sliding movement of the playing piece subjected to the force of gravity and to stop said sliding movement if the continuous magnetizable material is placed below the surface of the board; the in-plane gravity force provides an additional means for enforcing the sliding movement of the playing piece of claim 1 and an additional means for defining the direction for the sliding movement of the playing piece placed upon areas partially free from magnetizable material.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pattern is further made by a method selected from a group consisting of providing plurality of specially shaped holes in a continuous sheet of magnetizable material and overlaying separate pieces of magnetizable material on a non-magnetizable substrate.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pattern is further made from silicon steel.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pattern is further reversibly separable from the apparatus and assembled from one or several parts, each part having two surfaces and several sides; the pattern can be reassembled before the beginning of each game by using a combination of changing the location of said parts, their rotation and flipping. 